Iran's two-day Hormuz offer meets US rejection and Gulf anxiety

Marco Rubio dismisses Tehran's conditions as Gulf states pursue mediation and a UAE adviser warns of prolonged uncertainty.

Channel: ABC News (Australia) ·

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Iran says it could open Strait of Hormuz in two days if the US agrees to its conditions | ABC NEWS

Iran says it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days, but only if Washington lifts naval blockades and economic sanctions. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected those conditions as unrealistic, leaving the proposed timetable without an agreement.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster, reports the offer alongside growing concern in Gulf states about how the conflict will end. Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran describes a war involving the United States, Israel and Iran that has continued for nine months.

The strait connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, making it a critical passage for maritime trade and energy shipments. Reopening it and lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports are distinct elements of the negotiations described in the report.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei presents the shortened reopening timetable as a gesture of goodwill. Rubio, by contrast, calls Iran's demands "outrageous". The report gives no indication that Washington has accepted them.

Footage of burning vessels accompanies Doran's account of regional mediation, including Qatar's efforts. He reports that President Donald Trump met the Qatari prime minister in Washington to discuss ending the conflict, and links Republican midterm losses to public frustration over the war.

For neighbouring governments, even an eventual agreement may not settle the wider regional outlook. Speaking at a forum, Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the UAE president, urges preparations for a long period of uncertainty in which neither a decisive resolution nor a stable regional order can be assumed.